SLAVES,
BE OBEDIENT TO THOSE WHO
ARE YOUR MASTERS ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING:
(Genesis
16:9;
Psalms 123:2;
Malachi 1:6;
Matthew 6:24;
8:9;
Acts 10:7,8;
Colossians 3:22;
1 Timothy 6:1-3;
Titus 2:9,10;
1 Peter 2:18-21)
(Philemon
1:16) (1 Corinthians
2:3;
2 Corinthians 7:15;
Philippians 2:12;
1 Peter 3:2)
It is important to
keep in mind that God's commandments always include His enablements and
so these commandments to slaves can only be fulfilled supernaturally by
Spirit-filled slaves, who have cast off the filthy garment of the Old
Man they were in Adam and put on the new garment of righteousness in
Christ. Although at the moment of salvation every believer put aside the
Old Man and put on the New Man positionally (justification, past tense
salvation), for the rest of his and her earthly life there will be a
daily (even moment by moment) need to cast aside the filthy garment of
the old man and put on the garment of the new man (present tense
salvation, progressive sanctification). If any man or woman things he
stands, let them take heed lest they fall.
In a parallel
passage in Colossians Paul wrote...
Slaves, in all things
obey
those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those
who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23
Whatever you do, do your
work heartily, as for the
Lord rather than for men; 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive
the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25
For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which
he has done, and that without partiality. (See notes
Colossians 3:22;
3:23;
3:24;
3:25)
Writing to Titus
on the isle of Crete Paul said...
Urge bondslaves to be subject
(hupotasso)
to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing (euarestos),
not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith that
they may adorn (kosmeo
- gives us our English cosmetic) the doctrine of God our Savior in every
respect. (See notes
Titus 2:9;
Titus 2:10)
Peter also
addressed believing slaves...
Servants, be (continually willing to
be voluntarily) submissive (hupotasso)
to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and
gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. 19 For this finds favor,
if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows
when suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin
and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do
what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds
favor with God. 21 For you have been called for this purpose, since
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow
in His steps (See notes
1 Peter 2:18;
2:19;
2:20;
2:21)
Slaves -
Although we do not have slaves per se in our modern culture (some of you
would argue this point I'm sure!), the master-slave relationship clearly
parallels the employer-employee relationship in our day. As in the
relationships between husbands and wives and children and fathers, the
principle Paul is emphasizing is that of authority and submission as a
manifestation of one who is filled with and controlled by the Holy
Spirit. Barclay has a note (although it is difficult to substantiate)
that in the Romans Empire there were upwards to sixty million slaves,
largely because the Roman citizen considered it beneath his dignity to
work. Vincent adds that "in many of the cities of Asia Minor
slaves outnumbered freemen". Thus practically all work was done by
slaves. This was so pervasive that even doctors, teachers and
secretaries of the Roman emperors were slaves! Although some masters
were kind to their slaves, that appears to be the exception rather than
the rule.
John Eadie
notes that regarding the ancient institution of slavery...
Christianity did not rudely assault
the forms of social life, or seek to force even a justifiable revolution
by external appliances. Such an enterprise would have quenched the
infant religion in blood. The gospel achieved a nobler feat. It did not
stand by in disdain, and refuse to speak to the slave till he gained his
freedom, and the shackles fell from his arms, and he stood erect in his
native independence. No; but it went down into his degradation, took him
by the hand, uttered words of kindness in his ear, and gave him a
liberty which fetters could not abridge and tyranny could not suppress.
Aristotle had already described him as being simply a tool with a soul
in it; and the Roman law had sternly told him he ha d no rights because
he was not a person. He may have been placed on the “the auction block,”
and sold like a chattel to the highest bidder; the brand—stigma, of his
owner might be burned into his forehead, and he might bear the indelible
scars of judicial torture—that basanos without which a slave's evidence
was never received; but the gospel introduced him into the sympathies of
a new brotherhood, elevated him to the consciousness of an immortal
nature, and to the hope of eternal liberty and glory. Formerly he was
taught to look for final liberation only in that world which never gave
back a fugitive, and he might anticipate a melancholy release only in
the grave, for “there the wicked cease from troubling, and there the
weary be at rest; there the prisoners rest together; they hear not the
voice of the oppressor; the small and great are there, and the servant
is free from his master.” Now, not only was he to look beyond the
sepulchre to a region of pure and noble enjoyments; but as he could even
in his present servitude realize the dignity of a spiritual freeman in
Christ, the friction of his chain was unfelt, and he possessed within
him springs of exalted cheerfulness and contentment. Yes, as George
Herbert sings—
“Man is God's image, but a poor man
is Christ's stamp to boot.”
At the same time, Christianity lays
down great principles by the operation of which slavery would be
effectually abolished, and in fact, even in the Roman empire, it was
suppressed in the course of three centuries. (John Eadie, D., LL.D. The
Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians)
William Barclay
(Ref)
adds some interesting historical background on slaves in Paul's
time writing that...
In law he was not a person but a
thing. Aristotle lays it down that there can never be friendship between
master and slave, for they have nothing in common;
“for a slave is a living tool, just
as a tool is an inanimate slave.”
Varro, writing on agriculture,
divides agricultural instruments into three classes—the articulate, the
inarticulate and the mute. The articulate comprises the slaves; the
inarticulate the cattle; and the mute the vehicles. The slave is no
better than a beast who happens to be able to talk. Cato gives advice to
a man taking over a farm. He must go over it and throw out everything
that is past its work; and old slaves too must be thrown out on the
scrap heap to starve. When a slave is ill it is sheer extravagance to
issue him with normal rations.
The law was quite clear. Gaius, the
Roman lawyer, in the Institutes lays it down: “We may note that it is
universally accepted over the slave.” If the slave ran away, at best he
was death over the slave.” If the slave ran away, at best he was
branded on the forehead with the letter F for fugitivus, which means
runaway, at worst he was killed.
The terror of the slave was that he
was absolutely at the caprice of his master. Augustus crucified a slave
because he killed a pet quail. Vedius Pollio flung a slave still living
to the savage lampreys in his fish pond because he dropped and broke a
crystal goblet. Juvenal tells of a Roman matron who ordered a slave to
be killed for no other reason than that she lost her temper with him.
When her husband protested, she said: “You call a slave a man, do you?
He has done no wrong, you say? Be it so; it is my will and my command;
let my will be the voucher for the deed.” The slaves who were maids to
their mistresses often had their hair torn out and their cheeks torn
with their mistresses’ nails. Juvenal tells of the master “who
delights in the sound of a cruel flogging thinking it sweeter than any
siren’s song,” or “who revels in clanking chains,” or, “who summons
a torturer and brands the slave because a couple of towels are lost.”
A Roman writer lays it down:
“Whatever a master does to a slave,
undeservedly, in anger, willingly, unwillingly, in forgetfulness, after
careful thought, knowingly, unknowingly, is judgment, justice and law.”
In his first
letter to Timothy, who may have received this letter as he served as
"pastor-teacher" of the church at Ephesus, Paul wrote...
Let all who are under the yoke as
slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that
(here is the grand motivation) the name of God and our doctrine may
not be spoken against. 2 And let those who have believers as their
masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but let
them serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit
are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles. 3 If
anyone advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound
words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming
to godliness, (1 Timothy 6:1-3)
Slaves (1401)
(doulos)
is the Greek word which describes one who is bound to another in servitude.
In the Greek culture doulos
usually referred to the involuntary, permanent service of a slave.
By Roman times, slavery was so
extensive that in the early Christian period one out of every two people
was a slave! From at least 3000BC captives in war were the primary
source of slaves. These were Christian slaves working for the most part
for pagan masters.
Doulos was the
most abject, servile
term used by the Greeks to denote a slave. The word designated one who
was born as a slave, one who was bound to his master in chords so strong
that only death could break them, one who served his master to the
disregard of his own interests, one whose will was swallowed up in the
will of his master.
What a glorious
paradox. Slaves that have been set free (from sin) and into the liberty
of enslavement to the perfect Master, Jesus Christ. Paul is speaking
to born again, Spirit filled slaves and as such they were not only the slaves of human
masters but they were now slaves of their Divine Master. As slaves of
Christ they were to be totally surrendered to His will, which in context called for
a continual willingness to be filled with and controlled by the Holy
Spirit in order to carry out the command to be obedient.
Expositor's
Greek Testament has a helpful note writing that...
Many questions would inevitably arise
with regard to the duties of masters and servants in a state of society
in which slavery prevailed and had the sanction of ancient and
undisputed use. Especially would this be the case when Christian slaves
(of whom there were many) had a heathen master, and when the Christian
master had heathen slaves. Hence the considerable place given in the NT,
to this relation and the application of Christian principles (1Cor.
7:21, 22; 1Tim. 6:1, 2; Titus 2:9, 10; and Philemon, in addition to Col.
3:22, 4:1, and 1Pet. 2:18-25). Here, as elsewhere in the NT slavery is
accepted as an existing institution, which is neither formally condemned
nor formally approved. There is nothing to prompt revolutionary action,
or to encourage repudiation of the position. Onesimus, the Christian
convert, is sent back by Paul to his master, and the institution is left
to be undermined and removed by the gradual operation of the great
Christian principles of the equality of men in the sight of God, and a
common Christian brotherhood, the spiritual freedom of the Christian
man, and the Lordship of Christ to which every other lordship is
subordinate.” (Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament:
5 Volumes. Out of print. Search Google)
John Eadie
writes that...
The apostle, in the following
clauses, hits upon those peculiar vices which slavery induces, and which
are almost inseparable from it. The slave is tempted to indolence and
carelessness. When a man feels himself doomed, degraded, and little else
than a chattel, driven to work, and liable at any moment to be sent to
the market-place and sold as an ox or a horse, what spring of exertion
or motive to obedience can really exist within him? (John Eadie, D.,
LL.D. The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians)
Be obedient
(hupakouo from hupó = agency or means,
under + akoúo physical hearing and apprehension of
something with the mind - akouo gives us our English acoustics -
the science of design which helps one hear) (See word studies on
hupakouo
and on the related noun
hupakoe)
literally means to hear under or to
listen from a subordinate position in which compliance with what is said
is expected and intended. To obey
is
to submit or hearken to a command.
To obey is the carrying out the word and will of another person,
especially the will of God.
Hupakouo
conveys the picture of listening and
following instructions. Submitting to that which is heard involves a
change of attitude, forsaking the tendency of the fallen nature to rebel
against Divine instructions and commands and seeking God's will, not
self will.
How can one submit as their
lifestyle or habitual practice (hupakouo is in the
present imperative)?
In context he or she must be filled with the Spirit that He might enable
this supernatural submission from the heart.
“Be constantly obedient to those who according to the flesh are your
masters
"
Barclay
writes that Paul's when Paul writes to slaves...
He does not tell them to rebel;
he tells them to be Christian where they are. The great message of
Christianity to every man is that it is where God has set us that we
must live out the Christian life. The circumstances may be all against
us, but that only makes
the challenge greater. Christianity does not offer us escape from
circumstances; it offers us conquest of circumstances. (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster
Press)
Masters (
2962)
(kurios) signifies those over the slaves who had sovereign power,
absolute authority, total ownership and uncontested power.
According to the flesh (sarx
) - This would identify the believing slave's
earthly master and serves to distinguish these masters from their
heavenly Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. As one wise monarch once said,
“My dominion over my subjects ends where that of God’s begins.”
With fear and trembling (fear
trembling)- This phrase
expresses a desire to not come short of the discharge of one's duty.
This is not dread of the master, but respect for authority and desire to
leave no duty undone. It is not a fearful, shaking attitude but of a
sense of awe and reverence generated by the incredible truth that we are
privileged to serve the King of kings and for a moment in time He has
ordained that we serve as slaves of men (the application is of course as
employees to employers) and that we dare not think, do nor say anything
that would cause our earthly masters (saved or unsaved) to cast
aspersions upon our glorious Lord. And as Paul explains in his letter to
the Philippians, we are not left to our own ingenuity or strength to
accomplish these tasks...
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your salvation with
fear and trembling; for it is God Who is at work (energeo - energizing)
in you, both to will (He continually gives us the "want to", something
the "old man" would otherwise not want to do) and to work for His good
pleasure (here is the highest motive). (See notes
Philippians 2:12;
2:13)
IN THE SINCERITY OF YOUR HEART,
AS TO CHRIST: (24;
Joshua 24:14;
1 Chronicles 29:17;
Psalms 86:11;
Matthew 6:22;
Acts 2:46;
2 Corinthians 1:12;
2 Corinthians 11:2,3)
(1:1-23;
1 Corinthians 7:22;
Colossians 3:17-24)
Sincerity
(572)
(haplotes from a
= negation + pleko = twine, braid, weave, knit) means singleness,
simplicity, uprightness, mental honesty; the virtue of one who is free
from pretence and dissimulation. Haplotes pertains to being
motivated by singleness of purpose so as to be open and aboveboard,
without guile, and without a hidden agenda. The idea of haplotes
is that of personal integrity expressed in word or action.
Expositor's
Greek Testament notes that singleness of heart...
states the spirit in which the
obedience was to be rendered,—not in formality, pretence, or hypocrisy,
but in inward reality and sincerity, and with an undivided heart”
(Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out
of print. Search Google)
In the present
verse haplotes means to obey with a heart fixed on pleasing
Christ and not on worldly gain. What does haplotes heart look like in
context? Ephesians 6:6 tells us that their heart is sincere because they
are not obeying as an outward show that would conceal an inner improper
motivation. In other words, when the Spirit filled slave obeys, it is
not feigned obedience but genuine obedience. In other words haplotes
means "what you see is what you get". Without pretense or
ulterior motive. Not half-hearted.
McGee says
it...
means there should not be any taint
of duplicity. There should be no two-facedness. There should not be the
licking of the boots of the employer when he is around and then stabbing
him in the back when he is away. Such action should never be in the life
of a Christian. (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
As noted below in
3 uses in the second epistle to the Corinthians, haplotes also
refers to an openness and sincerity in sharing with others.
Haplotes is
used 2 times in the
Septuagint (LXX)
and 8 times in the
NT...
2 Samuel 15:11 Then two
hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, who were invited and went
innocently (LXX
= haplotes), and they did not know anything.
1 Chronicles 29:17 "Since I
know, O my God, that Thou triest the heart and delightest in
uprightness, I, in the integrity (LXX
= haplotes) of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now
with joy I have seen Thy people, who are present here, make their
offerings willingly to Thee.
Romans 12:8
(note) or he who
exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality
(haplotes); he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with
cheerfulness.
2 Corinthians 1:12 For our
proud confidence is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in
holiness and godly sincerity (haplotes), not in fleshly wisdom
but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and
especially toward you.
2 Corinthians 8:2 that in a
great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty
overflowed in the wealth of their liberality (haplotes).
2 Corinthians 9:11 you will be
enriched in everything for all liberality (haplotes), which
through us is producing thanksgiving to God...13 Because of the proof
given by this ministry they will glorify God for your obedience to your
confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality
(haplotes) of your contribution to them and to all,
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am
afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds
should be led astray from the simplicity (haplotes) and purity of
devotion to Christ. (Comment: Here haplotes describes a
simple goodness, which gives itself without reserve, with no strings
attached and with no hidden agenda.)
Ephesians 6:5 Slaves, be
obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear
and trembling, in the sincerity (haplotes) of your heart, as to
Christ;
Colossians 3:22
(note) Slaves, in
all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external
service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity
(haplotes) of heart, fearing the Lord.
Heart (2588)
(kardia)
(Click
word study on
kardia) does not refer to the physical
organ but is used figuratively in Scripture to refer to the seat and
center of human life. The heart is the center of the personality, and it
controls the intellect, emotions, and will. No outward obedience is of
the slightest value unless the heart turns to God.
Vine writes
that kardia...
"...came to denote man’s entire
mental and moral activities, and to stand figuratively for the hidden
springs of the personal life, and so here signifies the seat of thought
and feeling." (Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
)
MacArthur
commenting on kardia writes that...
"While we often relate heart
to the emotions (e.g., “He has a broken heart”), the Bible relates it
primarily to the intellect (e.g., “Out of the heart come evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
slanders,”
Matt 15:19). That’s why you must “watch
over your heart with all diligence” (Proverbs
4:23). In a secondary way, however, heart relates to
the will and emotions because they are influenced by the intellect. If
you are committed to something, it will affect your will, which in turn
will affect your emotions." (Drawing Near. Crossway Books)
MacArthur
adds that
"In most modern cultures, the
heart is thought of as the seat of emotions and feelings. But most
ancients—Hebrews, Greeks, and many others—considered the heart to
be the center of knowledge, understanding, thinking, and wisdom. The New
Testament also uses it in that way. The heart was considered to
be the seat of the mind and will, and it could be taught what the brain
could never know. Emotions and feelings were associated with the
intestines, or bowels." (MacArthur,
J: Ephesians. 1986. Chicago: Moody Press)
